Telkom Kenya on Monday unveiled its mobile money services to compete safaricom and Airtel in the growing financial technology space in Kenya.

Through the new service, Telkom is expected to join Safaricom and Airtel in piloting cross network money transfer unveiled recently.

“Mobile money has not only earned Kenya recognition but able to improve financial inclusion and boost the Diaspora remittances, the government is committed to bridging the gap in mobile services,” said ICT Cabinet Secretary Joe Mucheru.

“The wallet to wallet interoperability is making progress and we are confident that Telkom Kenya will be able to join other providers in piloting mobile money interoperability,” he said.

The piloting of mobile money interoperability comes after disagreements among industry and government players.

A segment of the industry has in the past said this would level the playing field and protect investments while the other argued that the system would have little or no bearing on the industry, including the ease of transacting among customers.

Kenya is a leader in the mobile money services area and has been credited for deepening financial access. There are currently 28.2 million mobile money subscribers. M-Pesa has the largest share, with 22.8 million subscribers, or 80 per cent market share.

Equitel, run by Equity Bank’s Finserve, is a distant second with 6.8 per cent share (1.9 million), while Mobikash has a 6.3 per cent share (1.77 million). Airtel has over time slipped and had a share of 5.8 per cent as of September, with 1.6 million customers.